Some great questions have come up in this spring's FEBI certification webinar, and this is a good place to post a few answers.
Q: All of my patterns were moderate and fairly close together. What are the implications of this vs. when patterns are far apart?
A: It's common for scores to be in the moderate range; the FEBI report is scaled so that about 65% of the scores will fall in this mid-range (note: when we launch FEBI 2.0 later this spring, we'll be re-scaling the patterns so that only the mid 40% will fall in the Moderate range to be more aligned with other instruments, as well as behavioral observations). Even more important than absolute value, however is pattern order when it comes to predicting characteristic strengths and weaknesses. When the scores are all close together and in the moderate range, chances are good the person is fairly balanced in accessing the patterns and, if she uses the right pattern at the right time, she's probably seen as balanced and effective by others. The downside of a balanced profile is that the person may not be as distinctly "branded" as one who is strongly differentiated in the patterns, and others may not know quite what to expect from the person.
Even if scores are close on the overall profile, the page of Work Behaviors in the FEBI report can be very useful for teasing out pattern preferences, since this was a forced choice part of the instrument and not factored into the earlier scoring. Looking at what patterns dominate in the top half vs. bottom half can substantiate either a good deal of balance (if all colors are in both halves), or more subtle differentiation (if some patterns cluster in the top or bottom). Looking at the behaviors clustered near the bottom of this chart, a good coaching question is, "Are these things you take for granted, or could you use more of them in your work or life?" What often surfaces is that even with a relatively balanced profile, if work or life conditions are such that some pattern is especially needed now, a conversation on the Work Behaviors page can tease it out.
